Hydrogen could contribute to 20% of CO2 emissions reduction targets by 2050

Hydrogen could contribute to 20% of CO2 emissions reduction targets by 2050

Wednesday 15 November 2017

The Hydrogen Council reveals first-of-a-kind study showing hydrogen’s contribution as a key pillar of the energy transition

Bonn, Germany – 14 November 2017: As global leaders gathered at COP23 in Bonn, Germany, 18 key leaders in their industry verticals, united in the Hydrogen Council coalition, came together to launch first-ever globally quantified vision of the role of hydrogen, developed with support from McKinsey & Company. In addition to being a key pillar in the energy transition, the study shows that hydrogen has the potential to generate US$2.5 trillion worth of business, creating more than 30 million jobs by 2050.

The Hydrogen Council sees the potential for hydrogen to power about 10 to 15 million cars and 500,000 trucks by 2030, with many uses in other sectors as well, such as industrial processes and feedstocks, building heating and power, and power generation and storage. Overall, the study predicts that the annual demand for hydrogen could increase tenfold by 2050 to almost 80 exajoules (EJ) in 2050, meeting 18% of total final energy demand in the 2050 two-degree scenario. At a time when global populations are expected to grow by two billion people by 2050, hydrogen technologies have the potential to create opportunities for sustainable economic growth.